'I, Judas and Simon, were accompanying him,' replied Peter, 'when at the door of the town, a poor woman seeing us pass, entreated the master to enter to see her sick daughter. He did so. He has kept Judas and Simon with him, and has sent me to you. Those who have need of him have only to wait here; he will soon come.'
The words of the disciple calmed the impatience of the crowd, and Banaias, the man with the long cutlass, said to Peter, 'Whilst talking of the master, talk to us of him: tell us the good news. Does the time approach when the gluttons, whose bellies grow fat in proportion as ours grow lean, will have nothing but the coals and brimstone of hell to fatten upon?'
'Yes, the time approaches!' said Peter mounting on a bench, 'yes, the time is coming, as comes the night of storm charged with the thunder and the lightning! Has not the Lord said, by the voice of his prophets, 'I will send my angel, who shall prepare the way before me?'
'Yes, yes,' cried several voices: 'yes, the prophets have announced it!'
'Who is this angel?' said Peter: 'who is this angel, unless Jesus our master, the Messiah, the only true Messiah.'
'Yes, ‘tis he!'
'He is the promised angel! he is the true Messiah!'
'And this angel having prepared the way, what says the Lord through his prophets?' continued Peter. 'And I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against false swearers, and against those who oppress the workman in his wages, against those who oppress the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, without having fear of me.' Has not the Lord again said, 'There is a race whose teeth are thorns, and who use them as knives to devour those who have nothing on the earth, and who are poor amongst men?'
'If this race has knives for teeth,' said Banaias, placing his hand on his cutlass, 'we will bite with ours!'
'Oh, may the day come when those shall be judged who oppress the workman in his wages, and I will denounce to the vengeance of the Lord the banker Jonas!' said a workman.